High Bridge of Kentucky

art by Paul Sawyier (1865-1917), painting date not recorded

a view circa 1940

Obviously a railroad bridge, this was originally opened in 1877 over the Kentucky River Palisades on the Cincinnati Southern Railway. At 275 feet (84 metres) high and 1,125 feet (343 metres) long, it was the tallest bridge above a navigable waterway in North America and the tallest railroad bridge in the world until the early 20th century. It was designed by Charles Shaler Smith and was the first cantilever bridge in the United States. The current bridge, designed by Gustav Lindenthal, was built around the existing structure in 1911 and expanded to two tracks in 1929.